


Amid Falling Cherry Blossoms

by afteriwake



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-18
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 12:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/515347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She has something important to tell him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amid Falling Cherry Blossoms

Ichigo stared out the window. He found himself doing that a lot, now. Not that he hadn’t done it before, but before he hadn’t felt so…empty. He’d lost his shinigami powers, and it felt like a huge chunk of who he was had been ripped away from him.

Rukia and Renji had stayed in the human world, Rukia because she was worried and Renji because they never knew if Aizen would get out, would wreak havoc again and put everyone in jeopardy. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto came by occasionally, mostly so Matsumoto could shop and Hitsugaya could report back to Soul Society on how things were going, because Reni’s reports were generally very vague. And of course Orihime and Ishida and Chad were there, and his family, but the gaping hole inside him just continued to grow and grow.

“Kurosaki-kun?”

He knew Orihime was trying hard to make him feel better, and he was glad, in a way, but it didn’t really help. “I thought I told you to call me Ichigo,” he replied without looking at her. 

“I…Ichigo,” she said, sitting at the desk next to him. “I made curry with sweet peas. Would you like some?”

“No, it’s okay,” he said.

“Is there anything you want? I can get you some juice, if you want.”

“I don’t need anything.” He finally turned to look at her and he tried his best to give her a convincing smile. He knew he utterly failed when the worried look on her face didn’t go away. “Thanks, though.”

She nodded and started to leave before stopping and looking at him. “Today…would you like to go see the cherry blossoms with me?”

He thought for a moment and looked at her face closely. The worried look was replaced by one of guarded hopefulness. He found himself nodding slowly. “Sure, why not?”

Her brilliant smile splashed across her face. “Okay! After school, we can go to my new apartment.”

He nodded again. When she disappeared from the human world after being forced to go to Hueco Mundo her landlady had thrown most of her stuff out. It was only by sheer luck that Karin and Yuzu and Tatsuki had managed to save a few important things, like the picture of her brother and some photo albums. He hadn’t been to the apartment yet, mostly because he had felt so down.

Her smile seemed to grow a little brighter before she headed back to her seat. He watched her for a moment and then turned back to the window, once again becoming lost in his own thoughts.

\--

“There’s a tree in the back courtyard,” she said as she unlocked the door. There had been momentary panic at school when she thought she’d lost her keys, but Tatsuki had found them hidden in her desk. Ichigo found himself curious to see what the place looked like.

It was spacious and had a great view of a courtyard, he realized. It looked as though she had made it into a peaceful place for herself, and if anyone needed a peaceful place it was her. He felt a small weight lift off his shoulders; while it may not have seemed like it to everyone else, he worried about her, and about how she was coping. She was the type of person to hide things under bright smile, but the smile on her face now looked genuine.

She walked over to the window and frowned. “It looks like everyone is down there,” she said sadly.

He joined her. “It’s okay, Orihime.”

“But now you don’t have a reason to stay here and spend some time with me,” she said quietly.

He was just a little surprised by that. “Really, it’s okay. We can watch them from here.”

“But it’s not the same,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to sit outside with you and watch them fall and maybe some would land in my hair and…”

He didn’t know what to do, but suddenly the empty feeling he had subsided. She was emptier, too. She wasn’t the same girl she had been before Aizen had gotten his hands on her. He’d known that, he had, but today he was really seeing it. “Maybe we can go somewhere else.”

She looked at him and then sighed. “There will be people everywhere.”

“I almost wish Kyoraku was here. He’s always having his lieutenant drop cherry blossoms on him.” Then he paused. “We could go to Soul Society.” He hadn’t been back since his powers had disappeared, but he and the others had been told they were welcome to travel back and forth if they needed to.

“But don’t you think everyone there will be doing the same thing?” she asked.

“Maybe, but I’m sure Rukia or Renji might know a secret place.”

“Okay,” she said, a small smile crossing her face.

He felt a smile form on his own lips. He didn’t know what had possessed him to make the suggestion, but Orihime had looked like she was going to start crying and he never wanted to see her do that ever again, if he could help it. “Come on. Let’s go talk to Urahara.”

\--

It hadn’t taken them long. Since Aizen had destroyed the cleaner they took their time getting there, and they were greeted by Hisagi and Kira. The two men had been promoted to Captain of their squads, and it seemed like a good fit for them. Ichigo realized that he didn’t feel any sadness or bitterness or emptiness being back there because the smile on Orihime’s face was making him feel better.

“Rukia Kuchiki sent word ahead that you were coming to view the cherry blossoms,” Hisagi said. “Rangiku found out and sent these along.” He handed them two folded up piles of clothing. “They are yukatas. They should fit.”

“Thank you,” Orihime said, bowing slightly. She looked down at hers with an excited look. “It’s so pretty.”

Kira nodded. “Well, we can take you somewhere to change. If you need anything else, you just need to ask.”

“Thanks, Kira,” Ichigo said with a nod. The two men showed them to some rooms and Ichigo changed, feeling a little more comfortable in the yukata than his school uniform. When he came out he saw that Orihime was waiting for him. Someone had given her a clip and she had her hair pulled back. She looked very nice, in his opinion. “You look nice.”

“Thank you,” she said, blushing.

“Rukia said her brother will allow us to view the cherry blossoms at his home,” Ichigo said. “Byakuya may not be happy about it, though, so we should find someplace away from him in case he’s annoyed.”

Orihime giggled slightly. “I think he only gets annoyed at you. And possibly Abrari-kun.”

Ichigo found that the smile became more relaxed. It had been a long time since he’d heard her laugh. He wondered if he’d ever hear it again, to be honest. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Then he looked around. “Come on, let’s go.”

\--

The Kuchiki manor was large, so they had no trouble finding a grove of trees far away from the main home. Before they had left they had been given a blanket and some food, and Ichigo appreciated it as he spread out the blanket in the middle of the grove. “Go ahead and sit.”

She sat down and folded her legs under her. “This is really nice.”

“Yeah it is, isn’t it?” Ichigo said, sitting next to her.

“Kuro—“ she began before shaking her head. “Ichigo. What is it like?”

He had known she was going to ask. “I feel…empty. Like part of my soul has been ripped out.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry.”

He looked away from her for a moment, focusing on the falling blossoms. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay, I think,” she said. “I get nightmares, and then I go and have some warm milk and something to eat and I crawl into bed again and cuddle Sora’s favorite sweater and go back to sleep.” She shut her eyes. “I’m happy Tatsuki had saved it when I left it at her home the last time I went over.”

He looked back at her. “Do you still miss him?”

She nodded emphatically. “I always miss him. But at least I got to say good-bye.”

“Yeah, that’s good,” he said.

“You let me say good-bye to him, and I m thankful for that.” She opened her eyes and tentatively reached over for his hand. “Thank you.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” He turned his hand up and her fingers skimmed his palm before she pulled them away. He felt a sense of sadness t that and wondered why.

“You saved me, too, so thank you for that.”

“But I became a monster. I could have hurt you,” he said, looking down and shutting his eyes. A moment later he felt the soft brush of fingertips on his cheek. Orihime had never reached over to him like that, touched him in an intimate way. When he turned to look at her she pulled her hand back.

“You wouldn’t have hurt me. All you wanted to do was protect me. You would have done that even if Ulquiorra had killed you. You would have done it until you died.”

“How do you know that?” he asked quietly.

She smiled at him. “I just do. I know it deep down in my heart.”

He nodded. “I believe you.”

Her smile grew brighter. “Ichigo, I came to see you before I left.”

“I know. You healed me.”

She nodded. “Yes. And I tried to tell you something, but I was too scared. I was more scared of that then I was of leaving.”

“What did you try and tell me?” he asked. 

She looked at him and a blush slowly spread across her cheek. “I decided that if you saved me I would tell you that I love you. I would be courageous and tell you while you were awake.”

He was stunned, but only for a moment. Deep down he had known she had felt this way, but he had never been able to figure out how he truly felt about her, whether she was a friend or nakama or maybe more. “Orihime—“

“If you don’t feel the same way that’s fine,” she said. “I just wanted to tell you.”

“I care about you a lot,” he said after a pause. “I don’t know if it’s love, but I care about you.”

“That’s good,” she said, smiling brightly. “I’m glad.”

He started to respond when a cherry blossom landed in her hair. He leaned forward and brushed it aside. “I know you said you wanted a cherry blossom to fall on you.” His hand lingered for a moment in her hair before he let his fingers skim her cheek. She shut her eyes and shivered slightly. He suddenly wanted to touch her more, to get close to her, to kiss her. He leaned in, and she leaned in as well, and instead of their lips meeting they hit their foreheads together. “Oww!”

She giggled slightly, rubbing her forehead. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It doesn’t really hurt,” she said, smiling at him. “I promise.”

He reached over again and touched her cheek one more time. This time he cupped it gently and she nestled into it, shutting her eyes again. “Did you want me to kiss you?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I want to.”

“Then you can kiss me.” She moved slightly and leaned in. 

This time, when he leaned forward, their lips met. Her lips were smooth and soft, and the kiss was tentative and light. After a moment he pulled away and saw she had opened her eyes. “So…” he said, suddenly a little embarrassed.

“That was nice,” she said with a nod. “Especially for a first kiss.”

“That was your first kiss?” he said, surprised.

She nodded. “Yes. And I’m glad it was from you.”

He found himself smiling, found that the empty space in him had started to fill up, and all he wanted to do was kiss her again, the embarrassment melting away. He leaned in again and kissed her one more time, a longer kiss this time. 

She pulled away first this time, and moved over so she could rest her head on his shoulder. He put an arm around her shoulders and held her close. Maybe, with each other’s help, they could go back to how they were before Hueco Mundo, before they had changed forever. Maybe, with her, he could let the empty space fill up again. And that would be a good thing, he knew it. She sighed a bit and snuggled closer, and they continued to watch the cherry blossoms fall until the sun began to set, lost for a long while in a perfect moment.


End file.
